The invention relates generally to a one-piece seat bottom chassis.
Vehicle seating typically includes a seat bottom and a seat back to support a driver or passenger. In certain seating configurations, both the seat bottom and seat back include a rigid chassis, cushions, and a fabric covering. The cushions are coupled to the rigid chassis, and the fabric covering is disposed about the assembly. The rigid chassis of the seat bottom serves to support the weight (i.e., vertical load) of the passenger, and couples the seat to a floor of the vehicle. In certain configurations, the seat bottom chassis includes substantially horizontal surfaces for mounting to a seating track, and substantially vertical surfaces for securing the seat back chassis.
Certain seat bottom chassis are constructed from stamped components. For example, a seat bottom chassis may include a right-hand bracket, a left-hand bracket and a cushion pan, each formed by a stamping process. The cushion pan may be coupled to each bracket to form the complete seat bottom chassis structure. Unfortunately, because the left-hand bracket, the right-hand bracket and the cushion pan are different shapes, three different dies, or series of dies, must be constructed to form each part, thereby increasing production costs. Furthermore, the process of coupling the cushion pan to the brackets (e.g., by bolting, welding, etc.) may further increase costs associated with manufacturing the seat bottom chassis.